1 Corinthians 1:25

1 Corinthians 1:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
• New International Version (NIV)For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:25

23but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people and makes no sense to people who are not Jewish. 24But to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 26Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes. 27But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame.

1 Corinthians 1:25 word by word

ὅτι τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν καὶ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπωνRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• the foolishnessμωρόςmōros · foolishG3474
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• wiserσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
• than menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the weaknessἀσθενήςasthenēs · weakG772
• strongerἰσχυρόςischuros · strongG2478

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:25

• 1 Corinthians 1:18The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.
• Exodus 13:17When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them on the road through Philistine territory, although that was the shortest route. God said, “If they see that they have to fight a war, they may change their minds and go back to Egypt.”
• Exodus 14:2“Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea.
• Joshua 6:2The Lord said to Joshua, “I am about to hand Jericho, its king, and its warriors over to you.
• Judges 7:2The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men with you for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag and say, ‘We saved ourselves.’
• Judges 15:15Samson found the jawbone from a donkey that had just died. He picked it up and killed 1,000 men with it.
• 1 Samuel 17:40He took his stick with him, picked out five smooth stones from the riverbed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag. With a sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
• 1 Kings 20:14Ahab asked, “How ⌞will this be done⌟?” The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says: by using the young officers of the district governors.” “Who will start the battle?” Ahab asked. “You will,” the prophet answered.
• Zechariah 4:6Then he replied, “This is the word the Lord spoke to Zerubbabel: You won’t ⌞succeed⌟ by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Armies.
• Zechariah 12:7“The Lord will save Judah’s tents first so that the honor of David’s family and the honor of those who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the honor of Judah.
• Romans 11:33God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep that it is impossible to explain his decisions or to understand his ways.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25The foolishness of God is wiser, etc. - The meaning of these strong expressions is, that the things of God's appointment, which seem to men foolishness, are infinitely beyond the highest degree of human wisdom; and those works of God, which appear to superficial observers weak and contemptible, surpass all the efforts of human power. The means which God has appointed for the salvation of men are so wisely imagined and so energetically powerful, that all…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Because the foolishness of God - That which God appoints, requires, commands, does, etc., which appears to people to be foolish. The passage is not to be understood as affirming that it is really foolish or unwise; but that it appears so to people - Perhaps the apostle here refers to those parts of the divine administration where the wisdom of the plan is not seen; or where the reason of what God does is concealed. Is wiser than men - Is better adapted to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 Paul had been bred up in Jewish learning; but the plain preaching of a crucified Jesus, was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world. This is the sum and substance of the gospel. Christ crucified is the foundation of all our hopes, the fountain of all our joys. And by his death we live. The preaching of salvation for lost sinners by the sufferings and death of the Son of God, if explained and faithfully applied…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25What the non-believing world sees as foolish and weak (Christ and the message of the cross) is actually wiser and stronger than anything else. It solves the world's biggest problem, which is sin, and defeats all evil forces against people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. foolishness of God--that is, God's plan of salvation which men deem "foolishness." weakness of God--Christ "crucified through weakness" (2Co 13:4, the great stumbling-block of the Jews), yet "living by the power of God." So He perfects strength out of the weakness of His servants (1Co 2:3; 2Co 12:9).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:25

• Boasting
• God Continued...
• Gospel
• Power
• Reasoning
• Salvation
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Confirm
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Cross
• Disputer
• Foolishness
• Household
• Join
• Preach

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings